The Maidens
by JemCarstairsTheViolinist
Summary: This is a twist on the Ascendance Trilogy. The main characters are girls, and the plot is mostly the same. This is my first fanfic and I ran out of ideas, so sorry for the cliffhanger.


**Hi, this is my first fanfic. This one is for the Ascendance Trilogy, otherwise known as the False Prince series. The setting and plot are similar but the characters are different. Thanks for reading!**

 _The hooded man in the cloak chuckled. "You really think I can't, Maurice?"_

 _The man named Maurice sneered. "You? Find a wife? Perhaps you would if you forced her to, but no one would willingly marry_ you _."_

 _The hooded man cursed at Maurice. "Fine. I'll give you a good price. 250 golds that I can't get a woman by the summer solstice."_

" _On."_

 _The two men parted, both shaking their heads, and the wiser of the couple left with a smile on his face._

* * *

Nina stared out of the window, wishing that she had a prince to come and save her. Of course she did. Every other girl in her orphanage did. Nina's parents had left her when she was young and never came back. The orphanage director, Ms. Mclagan, had told Nina these exact words:

"Nina Marause, you ought to be lucky you're here, young lady. Your parents intended to leave you, and now you're with me. Now, get going with your chores." Nina had sighed inwardly and grudgingly accepted her new fate. She had no memory of her parents now, but always held out the thought that someday, _someday_ , they would come back and see what a nice girl she had become. Nina was the eldest in her orphanage, at 17. That hadn't stopped her from disobeying, though. Whenever she got the chance, Nina loved to play tricks on Ms. Mclagan. She had never gotten caught, and intended to maintain that reputation.

Every morning, Nina woke up, ate, and did her chores. She then played with the younger girls until supper, ate supper, fell asleep, and the cycle started again. It was a restless life, and Nina had started to despair that no one would come for her. That was, of course, until one morning late in March.

* * *

Camren wished she was free from her darned, ever-toiling life. The only thing keeping her there was her family's need for food. As Camren worked away at the dirty tailor's market booth, washing and cutting cloths, she thought about that day. _Today is a very important day_ , Camren thought. She was getting her paycheck, and they would finally get a better dinner. Camren checked her beaten and worn-down watch as she got ready to leave. Her boss gave her the money and she was on her way home. That was, if her beaten and heck-old thing-of-a-house could be called a home. It was rickety and might've fallen when she opened the door and stepped inside, but it didn't. Camren's home ran solely on the hope of its members that it wouldn't fall and kill them all.

Camren Laihr was only 17 but she was the only worker of her household, which featured 2 toddlers, 1 baby, and her father. Her father stayed at home to take care of the children, because her stupid mother had given birth 4 times and then run off. Camren hated her for that. She worked for the money to run her family, so as much as she wanted to, Camren couldn't run away. She wasn't _that_ mean, unlike her mother.

So, when a man in a dark coat and a covered face took her, he took her screaming and shouting for him to let her stay.

* * *

 _I only want to be noticed_ , Alicia thought, panting and puffing. _I_ am _beautiful_. _So why has nobody noticed yet?_ Lissie had admired the men of her father's acquaintances for a long time, hoping one of them would say of her unusual beauty, and ask for her hand in marriage. No one did, of course.

Over 4 of her 16 years, she had collected (or stolen, one could say) a token from every handsome man that had stayed at their family hotel. A vest button, a handkerchief, a small chunk of soap, a tiny empty bottle, that kind of stuff. One of her dressers was bulging from it.

On this particular day, Lissie was panting because she had just made a quick escape from yet another 'suitor's' room. This time, she had manages to sneak out a forgotten hand mirror, compact enough to fit in her palm unseen. It was unnervingly heavy, but Lissie ignored that. She dropped it into her dresser, which creaked and groaned with the weight of another secret.

The man came just as Alicia was going to her room from dinner. She was clutching the new mirror in her hand, and he had burst through the window. Alicia let out a scream, and ran to her closet.

* * *

Emmeline cursed as she heard footsteps coming through the forest. She wished she could've stayed forever, gazing at the tops of the trees against the blue sky. She quickly gathered her belongings - which wasn't hard, considering that it wasn't much - and motioned Orvyn to come with her. They tiptoed through the dense woods until they arrived at the town. Emmeline picked her dog up and walked into the throng with an air of casualty. Well, as casual as one can be when walking in a crowd with a bag on your shoulder and a dog in your arms. She hefted Orvyn up a little higher and continued on. Emmeline reached the alleyways at the edge of the town and slipped into the shadows of the 4th one. There, she greeted a boy with dark, shaggy hair.

"Dixie." Emmeline addressed her friend in the dark.

He grinned. "Hey, Em! Hi, Orvie!" The two talked a bit, until the time for supper came.

"So, what do you think that you're having for supper today?"

"I don't know, Em, but I got a nice chicken today while Ol' Hardy wasn't looking. Meet me by the river and I'll show you."

Emmeline smirked. "Orvie'll love that." They parted ways. Dixie towards the town, and Emmeline and Orvyn through the alley until they could enter the forest again. They never made it out though, before Emmeline was grabbed roughly away by a gloved pair of hands.

* * *

The man was dressed in a heavy overcoat and she couldn't see his face. He sauntered into the orphanage as if he had all the time in the world. _Hurry up_ , Nina urged him. They never got visitors, and she wanted to see if he was looking to adopt. Nina could get taken away! She could finally leave this blasted place…

"...Nina? Would you please get into line?" Ms Mclagan huffed as she pointed it out for Nina. Face red, she did what she was told. The chances of her getting adopted were very low indeed.

The strange man looked at all the children in a line. His gaze swept right over her, and she sagged inside. How immature of her had it been to hope? When the man finished his survey, he pulled the old orphanage director aside to speak with her. They talked in hushed tones, and when they were done, Nina dared to imagine that it was her he was going to take away. She looked down, and stayed that way until Ms. Mclagan pulled her away. Nina gave a start. What did she ever do? Horrified, Nina tried to resist until she realized she was going with that strange man. What luck! She was getting adopted. The other children stared at her enviously as she walked out with the man. _Where am I going?_ Nina wondered as she walked alongside the man.

The man took her to a truck and threw her unceremoniously into the back section. She scowled, sure that this was not the proper etiquette for new adopted children. Then, someone from the front came and tied her up. Nina's eyes widened, and she managed to stifle a gasp before the coated man started driving.

* * *

"Let me go!" Camren screeched. She was sure that she was making a scene, but she didn't care. He couldn't take her now, not when her father was sick and there were 3 hungry children at home. Not now, of all times. She told the man all these things, all her excuses, but he gave no reaction as he pulled her through the busy streets.

Camren was tied up - _tied up_ \- and dumped into the back of an old truck. She was surprised to see another girl already in there, and when she entered the other girl cowered into a corner of the truck. She cursed at the man, and the other girl's eyes widened. Camren huffed. She spent the rest of the trip trying to undo her knots and successfully managed to get her hands undone and was working on her feet when the truck stopped and the same person who had tied her up came out from the front to guard them. He watched them without emotion, even through Camren's tauntings and questions.

"Why are we here?" she demanded. No answer. "At least say who you or that other guy is!" The guard remained imperturbable. "Fine! Be that way!" Camren shouted at the guard.

After she had shouted her voice hoarse, Camren finally decided to stop. She sat there with an air of obedience, but inside she was seething. _What kind of people are these_ , she wondered, _to take young girls away from their families, kidnap them, and just not tell them anything?_

 _Thump_. Alicia heard the man and let out a whimper. The man yanked open the closet door and Alicia shrank deeper into the tiny storage space. He chuckled faintly and grabbed her hands. She screamed again, and her voice cracked this time. No one came for her.

The man pulled her along and through the window. Alicia's room was on the first floor, so they landed in a clump of bushes. Alicia gasped, but the noise was muffled by the hand that was clamped on her mouth. She was tied up and taken to a truck and pushed inside, and she landed on another girl's foot. She heard the gasp of a different girl, and saw that there were two other girls beside her in the truck. One of them was sitting in a ball with a dirty, rumpled dress on and tear tracks on her face. The other was the one that Alicia had fallen on, and Alicia thought, _if looks could kill, I'd certainly be dead by now_.

The three young ladies sat in silence for the last leg of the journey, but they didn't know that. Their minds were focused on very different things, and none of them the latter.

* * *

Emmeline followed the man out of shock more than obedience. He led her along for about half an hour until they reached a small clearing in the forest. Off to the side, there was a truck. In the middle of the clearing there was a small campfire and three girls, tied to each other and under the eye of a watchful guard.

Emmeline's breath hitched. They were all the same age, it seemed, and these girls were all beautiful. They could have come out of a fairy tale, and Emmeline wondered why she was here too. Okay, so maybe she was overreacting a little, but these girls were certainly prettier than she was.

She jumped when that man came out of the shadows. He was smiling - _why was he smiling?_ \- and he cleared his throat, even though all of the girls were watching him (with expressions varying from nonchalance to fury).

"Well, well. I see that all you nice ladies have been brought here in time." he smiled, as if they were discussing something as small as the weather. "It sure is nice to see all you lovely girls."

One of the girls sitting down scoffed. "It sure is nice to see you without you trying to hide yourself."

The man merely smiled and went on as if he had not gotten any disruptions. "Now, let us introduce ourselves, won't we? You go first, young lady." The girl that he was pointing to gave a little start.

"Nina."

"Very nice!" the man grinned. He pointed to each of the ladies in turn, and Emmeline learned that the girls there were Nina, Camren, and Lissie (upon hearing which the man had clucked and said, "Now, now, I think you have a bigger name than that, though." And to this she had answered Alicia). When it was Emmeline's turn she debated giving a fake name. Instead, she gave her real one - but it didn't feel right. The man introduced himself as Orwin. _This man_ , Emmeline immediately thought, _is evil_.

 **I know that I'm probably not supposed to insert random author comments, but I needed to say two things. First, how do you start a new chapter in these things? Also, I might not be on this for some time because I have a big project at school and I'm trying to explore this website. Sorry! (On temporary pause until I figure out how to start a new chapter)**


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